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Sec.1 · Short Title and References to Title 17, United States Code.
(a) Short Title.—This Act, may be cited as the “Berne Convention Imple-
mentation Act of 1988”.
(b) References to Title 17, United States Code.—Whenever in this Act
an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to or a repeal
of a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to
a section or other provision of title 17, United States Code.
Sec. 2 · Declarations.
* * * * * * *
Title 17, United States Code, as amended by this Act, does not provide copy-
right protection for any work that is in the public domain in the United States.
(a) Effective Date.—This Act and the amendments made by this Act take
effect on the date on which the Berne Convention (as defined in section 101 of
title 17, United States Code) enters into force with respect to the United States.²
(b) Effect on Pending Cases.—Any cause of action arising under title 17,
United States Code, before the effective date of this Act shall be governed by the
provisions of such title as in effect when the cause of action arose.
Appendix I · Endnotes
1. This appendix consists of provisions of the Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988,
Pub. L. No. 100-568, 102 Stat. 2853, that do not amend title 17 of the United States Code.
2. The Berne Convention entered into force in the United States on March 1, 1989.